Port Hueneme to recognize outgoing councilmen

The city of Port Hueneme will recognize three outgoing council members on Monday night, including the long-serving Jonathan Sharkey.

Sharkey has served continuously since first being elected in 1994. He opted not to run for re-election, telling The Star he wanted to travel more with his recently retired wife while they were still able.

“Running for office is a full-time commitment. Like a lot of things, it doesn’t get easier with age,” he said in announcing his decision in August. “At some point, you have to say you’ve given it your best effort, and it’s time to move on.”

The other outgoing council members, Jim Hensley and Tom Figg, were both elected in 2014. Figg opted not to run again and Hensley finished fourth on Nov. 6.

After recognizing the three, a brief reception will follow, after which the new council will be sworn in.

Mayor Sylvia Muñoz Schnopp and council member Will Berg will be joined by Steven Gama, who works in risk management, Laura Hernandez, a former office of emergency services manager in the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office, and Richard Rollins, who worked in cultural and community services. The three were selected from a field of five candidates.

The new council will select a mayor and mayor pro tem from among themselves. Port Hueneme does not have a directly elected mayor.

The elected officials will then jump into new business. They’ll be voting on whether to hire a full-time public works employee to focus on “graffiti abatement, removal of abandoned shopping carts and other general maintenance activities,” according to a staff report.

That will cost up to $65,000 per year and come from Measure U, a 1-cent sales tax voters just approved.

The council will also vote on the terms of a new labor contract with members of its biggest union in terms of numbers, Service Employees International Union Local 721.

If approved, the new contract will give employees a 2 percent raise, effective the first full pay period after the vote. It will also give workers another half-day of holiday time, bringing the total number of holidays off per year to 12. The contract goes through June 30, 2019, and will cost roughly $94,000 per year, according to the staff report.

The council will also vote to lease property it owns at 700 E. Port Hueneme Road to Red Mule Group LLC for “a commercial cannabis manufacturing, retail, delivery, and distribution business at the property,” the staff report notes.

Red Mule will pay the city $1,000 per month for the lease. The company’s plan is to ultimately buy the property outright.